St. Landry democrat., 1887-12-31
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE.
Cotton Paying Crop-Hired Labor
Some Thoughts on the Philosophy of
Prices, by Successful Farmer
NEW ROSTON. TEXAS

Editor Texas Farm and Ranch:
| There must be a radical change il
Southern agriculture. This change vii
more or less affect the Northwest, ant
should il come sudden enough to Iaist
the price of cotton and lower that o
stock, bacon and grain, it will move thu
northern boundary Of the cotton bel
much farther north, double uD tn,
cotton crop in foreign countries ant
destroy our monopoly. | contend tina
it is more detrimental to any country fo
IFS product to go too high than too low
! When too high it invites competition
and causes investigation that will bring
| to light the fact that its crops can bt
grown in many places that never wOulC
have been thought of had the supply
kept pace with the demand.
With the present improved cOttOr
machinery, with the gin feeders ant
| condensers and self-tranping cottor
| presses (the self-tramper is success)
| and picker in the near future, cotton
| is a white mans crop. The power tina,
| runs threshtr will run gin, or a gin
| power will run thresler aud no house
is needed for either except to protect
the machinery from the weather. AgAin
am certain the improving and expert
tJtHlluE ll'h -'lus otI w III htttitD Tue
fact that the early proltics, not known
five years ago, will mature a crop az far
north as southern Iowa. The expert
mentors have planted this year as far
north as Knoxville, in central Iowa, and
throughout Illinois and Kansas.
1t is an undisputed fact that the far
Their north any plant will mature, the
finer the quality, and the earlier and
greater the yield. This is natural, and
cotton is no exception to the rnle; for
all agricultural reports show that Mis-
souri,, Tennessee and Virginia make
the largest tnrnOut OF lint per acre and
the finest staple.
The idea seems prevalent in tile
South that if the crop were cut down
half the price would be doubled. I
think it would give our monopoly to
foreign countries. But few men know
when they have good thing until they
have lost it, 1t is, thus with many
Southern people about cotton. The
reason it does not pay is not the price it
sells for, but it has to pay too many mar
gins to middle men and railroads. am
glad of it because the Northwest can't
compete with us in supplying home de-
mand and local markets. | sell oats at
40 cents when the West sells at 30 cents,
corn at 60 cents when the West sells at
80 cents. am not an all cotton man
but some cotton man.
But how are we to make this change
without affecting the price First, in
stead of ignoring cotton, try to learn
more about it. | am certain if we knew
more we could consider it y great bless
ing Instead of a curse. Learn how to
make more per acre at less expense
~ fhf J., I
doubled without adding another acre or
dollar to its production We, my broth
er and myself, are raising one hundred
merlv we grew fifty on the same land
with share labor, besides ample sup
plies for our place, with some to sell to
our local market. With the partner
ship and furnishing business it is a per
petual row, with nothing but the fifty
bales of cotton to sell, our stock all
skinned, our plows torn up, and we on
~ lasted two years when we "hustedn
all to pieces with two thousand dollars
more than we could pay. @Nce then
we have paid this debt, one hundred
cents on the dollar with ten per cent in
terest, and the first year paid regular
credit prices for all supplies, for we had
to\buy everything. We paid $40 for a
pair of Berkshire pigs, bought dozen
hens and increased our cattle. And to-
day do not believe there is nicer
bunch of hogs, fifty head, cattle forty
head, or chickens two hundred head, in
Ohio. We have lost but few chickens.
not hog, and only one steer. We
started on the partnership or furnish
ing business with over one hundred hogs
and about the same of laying hens. At
the end of year We did not have hog
or chicken left and after losing three
steers sent our cattle away. 1t looks
very strange to see ten or twelve young
steers as fat as the best grass, cotton
seed and meal can make them, and hogs
and chickens with all the corn and oats
they will eat, all mix up with negroes, for
we have not white man on the place.
But we don't want to starve our ne
groes to work as we had to do with them
as partners, but on the other hand every
one is forced to buy sufficient rations to
supply his family. II he does not work
enough to pay for them lie will have to
move. We pay sufficient wages and
cash to make them want to stay. And
regardless of how grassy the crop is or
how much he owes us, if he does not
come to time or creates any suspicion of
his stealing from US, or sticks out his
mouth when he Is told to trot, he must
pull his ducking. This independence
cleans him up and makes him the best
hand we can get. There is no other
way of working that we can be indie
pendent. 1t is true that he will work
but little over half his time, but we can
get that half at the right time with good.
well fed teams, the best plows and
seeds, and have it donefn the best way.
We hire them and they board them
selves. IT we board them we charge
25 cts. per day board. I'VE only hire by
the month from March list to July 18th,
all other work by the day or job. Cot
ton is picked by the hundred. The larg-
er the crowd of hands the better the
work and when all are in one crew every
horse and hand can be seen at a glance.
With troopers, only one can be seen
at a time; there is no chance to have
the land broken until spring and there
is no way possible to get one to work
his crop until it is run away with grass.
Now, contend that there is more and
eurer money in cotton properly handled
than any other crop that has to be
shipped and held until needed by mid
die men. A farmer cannot hold sur
plus crop over neither can q success
FIJI manufacturer, for their money and